TEXTILES manufacturers across Europe are relocating factories outside the EU to take advantage of 'poverty wages' and poor labour standards, London Euro-MP Jean Lambert told the European Parliament this week.
"I was in Athens last week visiting an underwear producer which is about to relocate 500 jobs from Greece to Bulgaria," Mrs Lambert told the Brussels plenary.
"The firm concerned, Schiesser-Palko, is one of Greece's largest textile manufacturers. Greece cannot afford to lose 500 jobs any more than London could.
"We are seeing the same sort of relocation through India, Sri Lanka, Latin America and China - where, we are told, the future of textile manufacturing lies.
"Workers in Bulgaria resent being paid less than their Greek counterparts, but in a high-unemployment situation it is difficult to resist taking any job that's available."
The drain is leading to both unemployment in Europe's textiles sector and falling labour standards as the clothes destined for Europe's High Streets are increasingly produced in less well-regulated states.
Current World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules prohibit 'discriminatory' barriers to importing textiles from non-EU states. While meeting minimum standards on workers rights - such as those agreed by the International labour Organisation (ILO) - would not necessarily be considered a 'discriminatory' condition for market access, there is no mechanism for differentiating labour standards in different countries.
"Labour rights and environmental standards are just too important to be left up to voluntary corporate self-regulation, or 'consumer power' alone. Though the current WTO rules are not clear on this, all future trade agreements should require all parties to uphold existing ILO standards."
ENDS
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